U.S. soft drink market sees drop in volume; rise in dollar sales

BEDFORD HILLS, N.Y. Carbonated soft drink volumes in the United States slumped in 2007, but total dollar sales were up, according to a recent Beverage Digest report.

The report stated that the volume of national soft drink sales was down by 2.3 percent from the previous year. That figure is nearly four times the rate of decline in 2006 (0.6 percent) and about 10 times the drop in 2005 (0.2 percent). The total volume of soft drink sales for 2007 was just more than 9.9 billion cases, the report stated.

For 2007, Cadbury’s volume was down 1.6 percent, while Coke was down 0.5 percent, but PepsiCo’s volume crawled up 0.1 percent.

Total U.S. CSD market sales were up by 2.7 percent from 2006, totaling $72 billion.

The data provided by Beverage Digest covers fountain drinks, retail and vending machine sales and energy drink sales, but it does not include bottled water, sports drinks and ready-to-drink teas.

Sunday alcohol sales get House approval in Georgia

ATLANTA The state House committee in Georgia revived a measure to permit Sunday alcohol sales at grocery and convenience stores. The discussion has been on the table for more than a year.

The House Regulated Industries Committee tacked an addendum for grocery and convenience store Sunday sales to another bill proposing Sunday beer sales at a minor league baseball stadium. The retooled bill passed unanimously.

Backers say that Sunday is the busiest shopping day of the week at grocery stores, and retailers have been losing millions each week due to the prohibition. Opponents argued that there are already plenty of opportunities for consumers to purchase alcohol 6 days a week, and also voiced concern about public safety if sales are allowed every day.

Republican senator Renee Unterman, who originally brought the stadium bill to the floor, said that she had intended only for Sunday beer sales at the baseball stadium and expressed disappointment at the added measure.

The bill could go before the full House for a vote by next week. The Senate would then have to approve it, and then a vote would go to the general public for approval.

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